SACRAMENTO — Facing widespread opposition to his special election, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that if voters reject a proposed spending restraint on the November ballot, he might be forced to raise taxes.
Schwarzenegger previewed a possible campaign theme in a morning radio interview, predicting that new taxes might be the only way to stave off future deficits if voters defeat Proposition 76, dubbed the Live Within Our Means Act.
Asked on KTKZ-AM (1380) in Sacramento what he might do if the spending control is beaten, Schwarzenegger said, "Then we have to look at raising taxes, because this is the only option we have, in order to create the money.
"And this is why I tell people vote yes on Proposition 76 and make sure that we do everything that we can to pass this proposition so that we force our legislators, once and for all, to live within their means and not to continue spending money and to keep making promises to people that they can't keep."
Though some analysts interpreted the governor's remarks as an attempt to build a case for the spending initiative, the most immediate result was to rankle conservatives.
Prominent Republicans warned that if the governor were to embrace a tax increase, he might alienate conservative voters who have remained loyal to him even as his support elsewhere has dwindled.
"If he actually commits as a last resort that he'll raise taxes, then his Republican base -- which is basically what's left right now in terms of loyal support -- will erode," said Ken Khachigian, a board member of the California Chamber of Commerce, a reservoir of support for the governor.
State Sen. John Campbell (R-Irvine) took issue with the governor's analysis, saying that whether Proposition 76 succeeds or fails, raising taxes "is not the solution."
"I see 'Live Within Our Means as giving the governor tools to balance the budget without controlling spending," Campbell added. "That's what it does. Without Prop. 76, we can still control spending. It's just that the governor won't have as many tools to work with the spendthrift Legislature."
Proposition 76, proponents contend, is a vehicle to constrain the state budget. It would limit state spending increases to the average growth in revenue for the previous three years. It would also give the governor discretion to make midyear budget cuts during fiscal crises.
Khachigian, a strategist for President Reagan, said the governor needed to retract his statement.
